Aussie Travels - Day 9 & 10

June 24th-

We got up at 8am and were out the door by 8:30am. It was a quick morning routine as we were all tired and needing to catch a flight back the the Gold Coast at 10am. Fiona took us the airport on her way to work. I hated to leave her as it wasn't enough time together. But we will reunite in the US in July during her visit to see us.

It was a 2 hour flight and then a 1.5 hour train ride home to Robina, just south of Brisbane. We slept most of the trip and then some more once we got home. We had 'take away' again this night. Can you say, "gaining holiday weight?"... WELL I CAN!! I soaked in a super hot bath and went back to bed straight after dinner. This day came and went pretty quick.

June 25th-

Again, nothing much to report here. I slept until 11am, had a shower, did some laundry, ate some food, and caught up on my blog. We really needed some rest after all we did this past week. I am also dealing with a little after-affect of the diving trip. I can barely hear out of my left ear and my right ear feels slightly muffled. I took a bunch of meds to help relieve the inflammation, so I feel like a bobble head! I am not worth much today. It is 10pm now and I have been struggling to stay awake. I will sign off now and talk to you tomorrow. I am sure there will be more to tell then. Last bit of shopping, beach, and casino, possibly... I will give you the FULL report. :o)

With love,

Priscilla

Aussie Travels - Day 8

Monday, June 23-

We woke up at 6:30am!!!! (Must I remind you that Fi and I stayed up until 4am the night before?) Ok, didn’t think so…. We were hurtin’ pretty bad, but the sea was calling my name, so I was up and at it!! We left Fiona’s house at 7:45am to head to Port Douglas. This is where we ported out of to head to the Great Barrier Reef! We went to what is called the outer reef. It is the furthest out, as the name suggests. It was a little choppy, so we took seasick meds just in case. It was a 90 minute ride the outer reef. The sea was so blue. It was chilly, so we didn’t spend anytime on the deck while traveling out to the reef.

We arrived to the outer reef at 11am. Once we got there, we unloaded onto a large pontoon boat platform. This is where we would stay the rest of the afternoon. We were going to go snorkeling but decided to go scuba diving instead! When the instructors were explaining everything, Mom was a little leery. I told her to pretend she was in her 20’s with no worries and she would be fine. She reluctantly agreed. I, however, was the one who almost chickened out in the end! As we sat on the platform and listened to the instructor as he gave us safety tips, I thought, “Safety? Why do we need to know safety stuff? You mean, this isn’t already safe?!?!? Uh, where is the closest exit!!!” No kidding, it was a bit scary. I was fine until we went all the way under the water with only the tank supplying us with air. I had a little anxiety. I popped up out of the water and the instructor graciously talked me through it. He said most first timers are ok after about five minutes. I thought, “Five minutes, that’s a long time when you are frightened!!” Anyway, I took a deep breath and just went for it. While sitting on the platform, I just ask the Lord to show me his beautiful sea and asked for him to calm me down. He did. After all, I had Jesus and my mom right there… what more did I need? :o)

Once we made it to the bottom of the ocean, I was fine. This HUGE fish swam right past me. It was the size of my torso. I forget the name of this fish, but it was bigger than any fish I had seen before. It was turquoise blue and had big ol’ lips. We saw NEMO too!!!! We also saw huge clams. I probably could not fit my arms around one if I tried. We saw all sorts of sea life. I would have to look it all up to tell you what they were. Mom and I bought a video of our experience. Hopefully I will be able to share that with you sometime. We saw a lot of coral reef. It was beautiful. All different colors and shapes. There was soft coral and hard coral. I held a shell that had a big crab instead. I liked that. The shell was as big as my hand. We were about 30 to 40 feet down. I sat on the ocean floor. The sand was white. What an amazing experience! It was everything I thought it would be. I am ready to go again! If I lived near the ocean again, I would get certified to dive more often. We stayed down there for about 45 minutes, but I could have stayed much longer.

We ate lunch after our dive. I was exhausted from my experience, so I just hung out on the boat and enjoyed the sun and beauty of the scenery. It really looked like all the post cards I have seen. Amazing! We headed back to the mainland at 4pm. We were once again exhausted from our day, so we got some Chinese take out and went home. Mom, Uncle Bruce, and I were scheduled to leave Fiona’s house the next morning, so we spent the evening packing and spending a last bit of time together. This was good time together. I learned how my grandmother made it to The States for New Zealand. I also learned the difference between shrimp and prawns, very educational! We got to bed around 11 or 12pm. Nothing but travel and rest for the next two days.

All my love to you,

Priscilla

Aussie Travels - Day 7

June 22-

We woke up and took turns getting showers, coffee, and fruit. We were out the door by 8:30am. We headed to a place called Skyrail Rainforest Foundation a about 15 minutes from Fiona’s house. We road in a skyrail to the top of a beautiful group of mountains. On the way, the skyrail stopped at certain points and allowed us to get out and walk through the rainforest. It is funny how conscious you become when you are in certain situations. Normally, I would eat a piece of fruit and through the seeds or peel down on the ground knowing it is biodegradable. But here, we weren’t sure if would hurt or help the environment. We didn’t want to interrupt the natural state of things. Really, we should always feel this way, rainforest or not! It was an interesting experience. We saw trees that were hundreds of years old. They were huge! The truck of one tree had to be 7 feet across and 7 or 8 feet thick! WOW!! There were thick wooden vines hanging all over. I was quietly hoping to see Tarzan and Jane swing through the trees and maybe get a picture with them. Sadly, this didn’t occur! Oh well!

This rain forest was filled mostly with plants, birds, and reptiles. To most of your disappointment, I didn’t have to swing from the vines running from wild gorillas or lions!! However, there were a few birds there that could kill humans if we get too close, so that’s kind of exciting!! Also, the crocodiles here are anywhere from 15-21 feet!! Holy Cricky!!

We enjoyed these tours up the skyrail. They were informative as well as beautiful sites. We made it to the top of the rainforest at about noon. We went on an extensive tour called The Rainforeststation. Now, THIS WAS COOL!! If any of you ever come to Australia, you HAVE to go on this tour. We got to feed and pet a few kangaroos. They weren't in cages or behind gates. We were able to get up close and sit down next to them. They were in an open area! Then we saw some more Koalas. They usually sleep all day because it is hard for them to get up and around in the heat. We were lucky to see one climbing around and being funny. Then we walked over to see a 15 foot crocodile! Holy Cricky is EXACLTLY the phrase that is needed at this point! No kidding, I didn’t know it was real. I thought it was the statue displayed to show us what they look like. There was a pond next to where the croc was. We were looking for the crocodile in the water and then one of us spotted the huge statue blinking! WHOA!! Not cool!! It was ALIVE!!! I couldn't believe my eyes. You had to be there to understand how crazy it was. He was so still and had his mouth open. Yikes!! I was ready to get out of there after I got over the shock of it being real!

The last two animals we saw on this leg of the tour were a Cassowary and a Cockatiel. The Cassowary is the bird who is deadly to humans. It has a body similar to an ostrich and a head like a turkey. Its body is black and its head is blue and red. A very strange looking animal. It made a loud bellowing sound. It sounded like the bass on a car stereo. Again, very strange. The cockatiel was a pretty white bird with a bunch of yellow feathers on its head. He was a funny bird. Mom tried to get him to copy her but he wouldn’t until we started saying,”Goodbye.” He said “Goodbye” a few times. We laughed so hard and then the bird started to laugh too. He was making fun of us!! We walked down to do another part of the tour and we could hear him laughing and laughing in the distance. We thought that was funny. We laughed again until we almost cried!

At 2pm we got on a vessel called an “Army Duck” as the second leg of the tour. It was a land and water vessel. A guide took us through a part of the rainforest that we would not have been able see to otherwise. There were steep hills and narrow dirt roads. There is no way we would have been able to walk through that area. The guide brought us past a plant that is the most painful non-deadly plant in the world. It has heart-shaped leaves with a thin layer of fur covering the entire plant. The “fur” is tiny pieces of glass shards. If any part of the human skin touches this plant, even the stalk, it will cause a second degree burn! YIKES! Also, if this injury is irritated within six months, the pain will return! We then went into a swamp were snapping turtles and blue-tongued lizards lived. There were no crocs in this water. At least that is what the guide said!

We saw the female and male state butterfly. According to the guide, it is rare to see both at the same time. The butterfly is called Ulysses. It is black with a bright blue middle section. The male has an electric blue color while the female is has a turquoise color. They were pretty.

At 3pm we arrived at the third and final leg of our Rainforestation experience. We were able to see an Aboriginal tribe perform ritual dances. They danced for about 30 minutes. Toward the end of their presentation, the Aborigines asked for volunteers to come and try one of their dances. I don’t have to tell some of you that, of courses, I volunteered!! It was a fun experience. I forgot to mention my mom belly danced the night we went to the Greek restaurant. We joked that we were belly dancers by night and aborigines by day, what a life this was!!! Hahaha!!!

We then learned how to throw a boomerang, play a didgeridoo, and throw a hunting spear. Nice!! I don’t think I would last too long in the jungle, but it was fun!

We took a train down the mountain at 4pm, back to civilization. It was nice to look back upon the mountains and see more than just “woods.” I looked at the rainforest with respect and humility. This place provides us with oxygen, medicine, plants, and food. We saw a waterfall about halfway down the mountain. It was such a nice way to end our wonderful day. This forest had everything you could imagine, besides cell phones, deadlines, clocks, or computers!! HALLELUIAH!! It was great to see God’s creation in its natural state.

We left the rainforest at 5:30pm. We were so tired that we stopped to get take away Italian food on the way home. We ate and had some good family time. Surprisingly, Fiona and I stayed up until 4am talking! We would be tired the next day, but I’m sure she would agree that we would not trade that time for anything, even the rainforest!! :o)

Until next time!!!

Priscilla

Aussie Travels - Day 6

June 21-

I woke up around 10am. I think they got up much earlier, but not me!! We got showers and coffee and went into Cairnes to see the boardwalk, shops, and have some lunch.

Cairnes is very pretty. There is a marina there. There were many beautiful boats parked near a long walkway where people were having lunch, shopping,and sunbathing. It reminded me of what San Francisco probably looks like down at the peer. There a was an area that had a market. Artists make things and bring them to the market to sell every Saturday. There was jewelry, art, clothing, all kinds of wood products, and instruments. All the items were made by the person selling them. It was neat to meet the the artists. I bought some things from an Aboriginal couple. They carved and painted boomerangs, didgeridoos, blessing rocks, hunting spears, and native art. Is was nice to know who the money was going to and where this art came from. Much better then buying things in a tourist shop. I have his information for future purchases!! Yay!!!

At 1pm, we went went to lunch at a boat club in the area. It was nice.

That night around 6 or 7pm, we walked to a Greek restaurant owned by 3 brothers by the last name Andre. Some of you know a new show on E! called Katie and Peter. It is not terribly popular, but they are an English couple and this is a reality show. Peter was a 90's pop star and Katie is a model. They are pretty famous in The UK. These 3 owners of the restaurant are Peter's brothers. It was fun. I recognized them from the show.

The atmosphere was really awesome. There was live music. Some Greek and Arabian music. There was a belly dancer. We had really good food. After dinner, we danced a traditional Greek dance and broke plates against the wall. It was really fun. Very authentic. I felt like I had flown to Greece for the evening!

One of the owners offered to take us to the casinos and show us the city, but we declined. I would normally be up for it, but we had two REALLY long days a head of us. We walked home and enjoyed the night air. We went to sleep around midnight.

This was a good two days of rest, we will need it! Tomorrow we go the the rain forest and Monday, we conquer the Great Barrier Reef!!

Good night friends,

Priscilla

Aussie Travels - Day 5

June 20th-

We slept in this morning until about 8am. Mom, Uncle Bruce, and I strolled the beach a bit and enjoyed the morning air. We took some pictures and we were on the road! This was the last day of our 3 day travel before getting to Cairnes. We plan on meeting up with Fiona, my father's cousin, once we get to Cairnes. She works there at a local language school. I have not seen my 2nd cousin in 25 years, hard to believe. I vaguely remember her coming to visit in 1983. She is a little bit older than me, but younger than my father, so I was sure we would hit it off!!

As for the drive, not a lot to report for this day. Only miles and miles of sugar cane. I have never seen so much sugar in my life! There were other crops, like banana and mango as well. The land is much more lush up here. We are nearing the northeastern part of Australia where the rain forests are located. The Great Barrier Reef is up here too.

Just outside of Cairnes, we stopped to give Fiona a call. As we were stopped, hundreds and hundreds of bats flew overhead! They were flying from the mountains to feed on the mango and insects. This occurred just as the sun was setting. Wow!! It was really weird! They covered the sky. I'm not kidding, they COVERED the sky, in ALL directions. I tried to get a picture, but it was too difficult.

We arrived in Cairnes about 8pm. It was so awesome to see Fiona after all these years. I think we stood outside her flat hugging and talking for 15 minutes. We finally made it inside and got settled. We hung out and talked for a few hours and got some Tia food. It was really nice. We hit it off immediately, just as I had suspected. We went to bed around 1am.

Aussie Travels- Day 4

June 19-

We woke up at 6am with the usual routine. We got on the road at 7:15am. We made our first stop at "The Capricorn Caves of Queensland" at about 11am. These were above ground caves but it didn't feel like it once we were in them. We were on a tour with about 15 other people. It was very educational. I will have to share some the cave stories with each of you in person. There is so much to tell, it would cruel to make you read it all!!

But to share a bit, there was a big rock that was disconnected from the large mountain behind it. This was the entrance we took. This large rock was part of a mountain that had fallen many years prior. It fell so hard and weighed so much that it split completely in half and now stand as two huge pieces 100 or so feet in the air. It was amazing! We could tell it was supposed to be one piece. The two were so close together, you could not get in between them, only see a small burst of light all the way up the rock. It was really cool to hear about it.

There was a cathedral inside the caves where they allow couples to get married. It sounded like a common occurrence. The guide had everyone go into the cathedral and played sweet music that was a song for the Lord. Then the guide turned different lights on and off to show the many views of the cave. She told a story about the person who discovered the caves while we sat in the dark. Between the music, lights, and the story, it was an amazing experience. I felt very close to nature and my Lord. It was a worshipful time.

We continued on through the caves until we reached a room toward the exit. This cave had three areas that allowed sunlight. One small hole in the roof of this cave was unique. About 3 weeks of the year during December,(their summer), the sun shines directly into this hole and illuminates the entire caves with whatever is in the sunlight’s path. If you were to stand in this spot at the right time with a blue shirt on, the entire cave would be bright blue. The guide said it was because the limestone is so white. Neat!

We left there around 1pm. We traveled all day to our next destination. We arrived in Witsunday at 5:30pm. It was dark so we could not go to the beach, but Mom and I walk down to the beach front shops. As we arrived, some shops started closing, so we went to a pavilion area that served dinner. There was quite a nightlife there. There were 4 or 5 pubs facing a boardwalk that was open with benches, pool tables, and a stage for a band. Once again, very "surfer dude." I liked it! Caroline...you, Robbie, and I would have had a blast at this place. You too Melanie and Brock, yall would have really enjoy it! This stop is a common vacation spot for people from all over. It was a pretty swanky place. Either like The Hamptons or Boca Raton. We stayed in a beach apartment for the night. We ordered "take away" and ate at home with Uncle Bruce. We went off to bed at 9pm this night.

Pretty tuckered out from the road. About 330 miles to go before we reach Cairnes!! The Great Barrier Reef awaits our arrival!!! WOW!! My excitement helps my fatigue!!

Until tomorrow my friend,

Priscilla

Aussie Travels- Day 3

June 18th-

We woke up at 6am and had coffee, showers, and toast again. We were on the road by 7:15am.
We had a nice morning of driving. We drove North through Brisbane and out toward the countryside. There were mountains everywhere! It was breath taking. It was a little overcast, but we didn't mind. The fog over the mountaintop was something straight out of a novel. I felt as though life was imitating art, but the truth is, this is where our beautiful art is born! I cannot express it's full beauty through words. It would be like trying to describe the depth of love from a parent to their child...nearly impossible! So I will leave with you with what I have shared and pray you can gain a tiny taste of what I have seen.

What's cool is it runs for miles and miles. I am writing to you today(June 19th) as I watch these mountains continue to pass one after another... And sometimes a whole display of them at once. It is like they are all posing for a portrait. Very still and proper. All the mountains look their best and smile for us to see their beauty as they hope we will stop long enough to look. Ah, so nice!

It is WILD! They surround us 360 degrees. This Great Divide I speak of runs all the way up the coastline.

We arrived at Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo at 9:30am. We were able to see a Tazmanian Devil, a Koala, a woombat, and these HUGE tortoises that were in their 30's. I wanted to compare life notes with one of them to see how I've faired, but the zoo keeper didn't really care for that too much, so I refrained.

We also saw a show in "The Crocoseum" that had birds and crocodiles performing tricks. It was fun. Last, but not least, we held a koala!!! YAY!! What an Australian treat!

We "departed", as my uncle would say, at noon and pressed on toward our destination. We stopped through a few beach towns along the way. It was nice. These towns remind me a lot of our beach towns. Laid back, nothing too grand. People were hangin' loose...with "No worries, mate."

The last stop to mention before closing out of first day of our excursion up the South Pacific coastline...

We made a stop at a place called Ettamogah Pub. (Pronounced EttamaGOO). This was a little stop off the highway. It didn't look like much at first, but once we pulled in, we saw what all the fuss was about. It was a HUGE barn-like building. There were funny expressions written all over the sides and front of the building. Example..."Don't be a dink, Stop for a drink! Tanks!" It was written on the side of a giant tank that was next to the entrance. It was funny.

Well, it was a beautiful wooden cabin-like bar on the inside. The pool table, bar, doors, and walls were all made of this gorgeous wood. My uncle says its Spotted Gum Wood. (Whatever that looks like!) Hehe. Anywho, it is was really nice. The staff was cool. They let us get behind the bar and pretend to pour a drink for a picture.

I tried a "Shandy." This is half beer and half lemonade. I think this must be the Aussie's secret to being able to drink so much! They are only drinking half what we do as we try to keep up! I've got it now! Ha! I only had a sip,though, because I didn't care too much for it. Plus, I've had so much grog since I've been here, I'm going to rehab straight from the plane!!! Hahaha (just kidding, yall!)

It was a neat place. Before we left, we had a "mince pie" (pronounced Men-see). This is an Aussie favorite. It's made in a small, flakey, pastry crust. It's like a pot pie in America. But it is filled with beef stew (for lack of a better description) and is topped with a mashed potato, then baked!!! Woo wee!!!! I'm ready for anotha-one-a those!!!!!
Bridget...are you taking notes? Good!

We arrived in Gladstone around 7:45pm. Nothing to tell here. Just a sleepy town...and we were a few sleepy travelers. So we had some supper and were off to sleep around 10pm. This day's drive was nice, but long. It would be about an 7 or 8 hour ride if we were to drive straight
through. Our stops were many, but well worth it.

Until next time....

Love as always,

Priscilla

Australian Travels, Day 2

6/18/08 @ 12am

My dear friends,

It is late here in Robina; midnight. I am very tired and we have a long but wonderful journey ahead of us tomorrow. I want to share the great day we had today, but perhaps I will wait until another time. There is so much to tell, I don’t want to leave anything out just because of a little fatigue!

Just a bit…

We went to the couple’s house I spoke of last email. They were awesome! They are German. Doris and Gearheart are their names. They are retired and living on the river that runs through the city. We enjoyed cheese, crackers, bread, and grapes, along with some white wine. We talked about everything from politics and religion to the stock market, careers, and love. It was a good time. I will go on about this couple more later. They were quite charming!

We later went to “The Australian Outback Experience Spectacular.” This is a theatrical rodeo, hard to imagine, but true. It was a dinner show. More to come on that as well..

And lastly before I “buzz off”, Uncle Bruce let me drive home from the show! WHOA!!! It was cool! You would have been so proud of me, I stayed on the wrong side of the road the whole time, just as I was supposed to!! Hahaha!!! Talk about freaky! I was driving from the passenger seat on the left-hand side of the street. I felt like I was in a romantic comedy were the couple is arguing driving down the road in a foreign country! The only difference was there was no romance and no arguing… but it was really funny!!! I guess you had to be there!!! :o)

Well, as I said about 14 thousand times already, I will fill in the gaps of this adventurous day when I have more wind in my sails. It may be a few days before I write again because we leave in the early morning to travel to Carnes…(pronounced Cans) to see my cousin Fiona. It is a 19 hr drive!! Good practice for my South Dakota trips to come!! ;o) I don’t know what amenities there will be on our 3 day journey, but I will keep a close watch on all of our fun so I can share it with you. I hope you are well and feeling blessed today, because you are! Thanks be to Thee, oh Lord, for this sweet person I share my memoirs with.

All my love to you,

Priscilla

Good Day MATES!!

It is currently 4pm on Tues, June 17^th.

I wrote this first entry this morning but wasn’t able to finish. Here it is. More to come later.

6/17/08 @ 9am-

It is 9am on currently June 17th. Mom and I arrived safely with all over our bags and wits about us! I hope to send a daily account of our travels to you as this is a special time I wish to share with all of you. If you are receiving this email blog, then consider yourself stuck with me. You have touch my life and helped make me a better woman that our Lord can hopefully be proud of. So, thank you dear friend. My purpose in accounting for my days while in Australia is to attempt to share this wonderful time with you. This is a trip that I will remember forever and I hope that you will gain a little piece of it through my blog.

So, to begin....

We flew in from LA on 6/14/08. It was a 13hr flight. It was so weird to leave LA at 11pm on 6/14 and arrive only 13hrs later at 6:30am on 6/16. As someone who is into numbers, that didn’t seem to add up.... but there we were, in the Brisbane airport, going through customs, baggage claim, and dog sniffing (it was a beagle… SCARY!! HAHAHA) The Aussie's were so generous and polite. Wow! What a wonderful treat for us as we arrived to a new country.

We finally saw Uncle Bruce waiting for us at 7:25am. It was a sweet reunion. Big long hugs, wonderful laughter, and a few tiny tears of joy. How blessed we are to have such a strong and loving relationship with someone so far away. We found our way to Uncle Bruce's car pretty easily. Hey, we are used to the ATL airport, so this was NOTHING BIG DEAL, as an old professor of mine used to say!! We were able to fit all of our luggage into the "boot" of his car...and it’s a Kia! Can you believe it!! I thought we might need to "hire a car" just for our things, but we did just fine. :o)

7:45am- We traveled to Uncle Bruce's house which was 1.5 hrs away from the airport. We had showers, unpacking, a little snack, and a 2-3 hr rest. At 1pm we woke up, ate a little lunch, and were off to see some things around town. That Uncle Bruce doesn’t like to waist a minute! Wow! I am envious! If I were as chipper and grand as he, who knows what I could have accomplished by now!! Anywho, he's great. We really couldn't ask for a better situation. He is our personal tour guide.

So, around 3pm, we went to a shopping mail to pick up a quick item for Mom. It was an outside shopping mail. Not a strip mall like we are used to, but like a real mall with department stores and a food court... but the ground is a sidewalk and it is outdoors. Very cool, I must say! There were lots of cool things For a good price. Mom and I have said we will return there for sure!!

We then drove to Surfer's Paradise . It is on the Gold Coast. We were able to take a quick glance at the ocean before heading to the "Q1" (I will explain in a moment.) Uncle Bruce showed us all the tall condos and a few shopping areas. This part of the Gold Coast is called Broad Beach . There a lots of swanky places. I wouldn’t be surprised if American stars hide out from the paparazzi here. Uncle Bruce says the Gold Coast is a get away for them.

We then went to this tall building called the "Q1." It is the tallest residential building in the world! Watch out Donald Trump! We've got your number now! You’re FIRED by the Aussie's!! It was spectacular. The elevator took us to the 77th floor in only 46 seconds! HELLO! It was a pretty smooth ride too! This floor is an observatory. You can look in ever direction, literally 360 degrees of beauty!! You can see for miles and miles. The pictures I sent from my phone yesterday were taken from here. If you didn’t receive the pictures, I will send more once they are loaded onto the computer. We could see the ocean for miles, as well as the city of Surfer 's Paradise and Robina. Robina is where Uncle Bruce lives. It is only a 10 min drive from his house to Q1. There are BEAUTIFUL mountains in the background of the city called the McPherson Mountains . They are part of The Great Divide, some of you may have heard of that. The mountains stretched from one side of the ocean to the other and divide the wild terrain from the proper city. Behind the mountains is the true "Outback." They call it the outback because it is out of the city and back behind the mountains. It was cool to see that and put it together after a lifetime of hearing those expressions.

We bought a few cocktails at $16 Australian DOLLARS A PIECE!! HOLY MOLY!! That is close to our $16. In America , that would have been around $16.32. That was a lot for my humble little pocketbook! Needless to say, we only had one each! We watched the sun set over the mountains and saw all the city lights come up. It was wonderful. We were missing our loved one as we thought about how great it would be to share this sweet experience.

The sun sets at 5:15pm. (It's winter, here) We went home and had Steak Diane for dinner, which was great! Thanks to Uncle Bruce! We went to bed at 8:30pm as we were exhausted from our travels.

Now, I am off to transform my sleepy head into a beautiful Prissy (as best I can, at least!) We are off to adventure some more. Uncle Bruce has planned for us to go and meet a couple that he and my aunt and cousin have been very close to. Then, we will go to and dinner rodeo show called the “Outback Experience!” I will return with more stories!! (and hopefully some pictures!)

You all know how electronically inclined I am, so it’s an interesting time trying to figure out how to get an Aussie UBS to work with an American UBS… not sure, but we shall see!!

To be continued...

All my love to you,

Priscilla